Upon that night, when fairies light
On Cassilis Downans^2dance,
Or owre the lays, in splendid blaze,
On sprightly coursers prance;
Or for Colean the rout is ta’en,
Beneath the moon’s pale beams;
There, up the Cove,^3to stray an’ rove,
Amang the rocks and streams
To sport that night;

Amang the bonie winding banks,
Where Doon rins, wimplin, clear;
Where Bruce^4ancerul’d the martial ranks,
An’ shook his Carrick spear;
Some merry, friendly, countra-folks
Together did convene,
To burn their nits, an’ pou their stocks,
An’ haudtheir Halloween
Fu’ blythe that night.

The lasses feat, an’ cleanly neat,
Mair braw than when they’re fine;
Their faces blythe, fu’ sweetly kythe,
Hearts leal, an’ warm, an’ kin’:
The lads sae trig, wi’ wooer-babs
Weel-knotted on their garten;
Some unco blate, an’ some wi’ gabs
Garlasses’ hearts gangstartin
Whiles fast at night.

Then, first an’ foremost, thro’ the kail,
Their stocks^5mauna’ be sought ance;

They steektheir een, and grapean’ wale
For muckle anes, an’ straught anes.
Poor hav’rel Will fell aff the drift,
An’ wandered thro’ the bow-kail,
An’ pou’t for want o’ better shift
A runtwas like a sow-tail
Sae bow’tthat night.

Then, straughtor crooked, yirdor nane,
They roar an’ cry a’ throu’ther;
The vera wee-things, toddlin, rin,
Wi’ stocks out owre their shouther:
An’ gifthe custock’s sweet or sour,
Wi’ joctelegs they taste them;
Syne coziely, aboonthe door,
Wi’ cannie care, they’ve plac’d them
To lie that night.

The lassies stawfrae ‘mang them a’,
To pou their stalks o’ corn;^6
But Rab slips out, an’ jinks about,
Behint the mucklethorn:
He grippit Nelly hard and fast:
Loud skirl’d a’ the lasses;
But her tap-picklemaist was lost,
Whankiutlinin the fause-house^7
Wi’ him that night.

The auld guid-wife’s weel-hoordit nits^8
Are round an’ round dividend,
An’ mony lads an’ lasses’ fates
Are there that night decided:
Some kindle couthieside by side,
And burn thegithertrimly;
Some start awawi’ saucy pride,
An’ jump out owre the chimlie
Fu’ high that night.

Jean slips in twa, wi’ tentiee’e;
Wha ’twas, she wadnatell;
But this is Jock, an’ this is me,
She says in to hersel’:
He bleez’d owre her, an’ she owre him,
As they wad never mairpart:
Till fuff! he started up the lum,
An’ Jean had e’ena sair heart
To see’t that night.

Poor Willie, wi’ his bow-kailrunt,
Was brunt wi’ primsieMallie;
An’ Mary, nae doubt, took the drunt,
To be compar’d to Willie:
Mall’s nitlap out, wi’ pridefu’ fling,
An’ her ainfit, it brunt it;
While Willie lap, and swore by jing,
‘Twas just the way he wanted
To be that night.

Nell had the fause-housein her min’,
She pits herselan’ Rob in;
In loving bleezethey sweetly join,
Till white in asethey’re sobbin:
Nell’s heart was dancin at the view;
She whisper’d Rob to leukfor’t:
Rob, stownlins, prie’d her boniemou’,
Fu’ cozie in the neukfor’t,
Unseen that night.

But Merran sat behint their backs,
Her thoughts on Andrew Bell:
She lea’es them gashin at their cracks,
An’ slips out-by hersel’;
She thro’ the yardthe nearest taks,
An’ for the kiln she goes then,
An’ darklinsgrapit for the bauks,
And in the blue-clue^9throws then,
Right fear’t that night.

An’ ay she win’t, an’ ay she swat-
I wat she made nae jaukin;
Till something held within the pat,
Good Lord! but she was quaukin!
But whether ’twas the deil himsel,
Or whether ’twas a bauk-en’,
Or whether it was Andrew Bell,
She did na wait on talkin
To spierthat night.

WeeJenny to her graunie says,
“Will ye go wi’ me, graunie?
I’ll eat the apple at the glass,^10
I gat fraeuncle Johnie:”
She fuff’ther pipe wi’ sic a lunt,
In wrath she was sae vap’rin,
She notic’t na an aizlebrunt
Her braw, new, worsetapron
Out thro’ that night.

“Ye little skelpie-limmer’s face!
I dauryou try sic sportin,
As seek the foul thief ony place,
For him to spaeyour fortune:
Nae doubt but ye may geta sight!
Great cause ye haeto fear it;
For mony a ane has gottena fright,
An’ liv’d an’ died deleerit,
On sica night.

“Ae hairstaforethe Sherra-moor,
I mind’t as weel’s yestreen-
I was a gilpeythen, I’m sure
I was na past fyfteen:
The simmerhad been cauldan’ wat,
An’ stuff was unco green;
An’ eye a rantin kirnwe gat,
An’ just on Halloween
It fellthat night.

“Our stibble-rigwas RabM’Graen,
A clever, sturdy fallow;
His singat Eppie Sim wi’ wean,
That lived in Achmacalla:
He gat hemp-seed,^11I mindit weel,
An’he made unco light o’t;
But mony a day was by himsel’,
He was sae sairlyfrighted
That vera night.”

Then up gat fechtin Jamie Fleck,
An’ he swoor by his conscience,
That he could saw hemp-seed a peck;
For it was a’ but nonsense:
The auld guidman raughtdown the pock,
An’ out a handfu’ giedhim;
Syne bad him slip frae’ mang the folk,
Sometime when naeanesee’dhim,
An’ try’t that night.

He marches thro’ amang the stacks,
Tho’ he was something sturtin;
The graiphe for a harrow taks,
An’ haurls at his curpin:
And ev’ry now an’ then, he says,
“Hemp-seed I saw thee,
An’ her that is to be my lass
Come after me, an’ draw thee
As fast this night.”

He wistl’d up Lord Lennox’ March
To keep his courage cherry;
Altho’ his hair began to arch,
He was saefley’d an’ eerie:
Till presently he hears a squeak,
An’ then a granean’ gruntle;
He by his shouthergaea keek,
An’ tumbled wi’ a wintle
Out-owre that night.

He roar’d a horrid murder-shout,
In dreadfu’ desperation!
An’ young an’ auld come rinnin out,
An’ hear the sad narration:
He swoor’twas hilchin Jean M’Craw,
Or crouchieMerranHumphie-
Till stop! she trotted thro’ them a’;
And wha was it but grumphie
Asteerthat night!

Meg fainwadto the barn gaen,
To winnthree wechts o’ naething;^12
But for to meet the deilher lane,
She patbut little faith in:

She gies the herda picklenits,
An’ twaredcheekit apples,
To watch, while for the barn she sets,
In hopes to see Tam Kipples
That veranight.

She turns the keywi’ canniethraw,
An’owre the threshold ventures;
But first on Sawnie gies a ca’,
Synebaudly in she enters:
A ratton rattl’d up the wa’,
An’ she cry’d Lord preserve her!
An’ ran thro’ midden-holean’ a’,
An’ pray’d wi’ zeal and fervour,
Fu’ fast that night.

They hoy’tout Will, wi’ sairadvice;
They hechthim some fine brawane;
It chanc’d the stack he faddom’t thrice^13
Was timmer-propt for thrawin:
He taks a swirlieauld moss-oak
For some black, grousome carlin;
An’ loota winze, an’ drew a stroke,
Till skin in blypescamhaurlin
Aff’s nieves that night.

A wanton widow Leezie was,
As cantieas a kittlen;
But och! that night, amang the shaws,
She gat a fearfu’ settlin!
She thro’ the whins, an’ by the cairn,
An’ owre the hill gaedscrievin;
Whare three lairds’ lan’s met at a burn,^14
To dip her left sark-sleeve in,
Was bent that night.

Whiles owrea linnthe burnieplays,
As thro’ the glen it wimpl’t;
Whiles round a rocky scarit strays,
Whiles in a wielit dimpl’t;
Whiles glitter’d to the nightly rays,
Wi’ bickerin’, dancin’ dazzle;
Whiles cookitundeneath the braes,
Below the spreading hazel
Unseen that night.

Amangthe brachens, on the brae,
Between her an’ the moon,
The deil, or else an outlerquey,
Gat up an’ ga’e a croon:
Poor Leezie’s heart maistlapthe hool;
Near lav’rock-height she jumpit,
But mist a fit, an’ in the pool
Out-owre the lugs she plumpit,
Wi’ a plunge that night.

In order, on the clean hearth-stane,
The luggies^15three are ranged;
An’ ev’ry time great care is ta’en
To see them duly changed:
Aulduncle John, whawedlock’s joys
Sin’Mar’s-year did desire,
Because he gatthe toomdish thrice,
He heav’d them on the fire
In wrath that night.

Wi’ merry sangs, an’ friendly cracks,
I watthey did naweary;
And uncotales, an’ funnie jokes-
Their sports were cheap an’cheery:
Tillbutter’d sowens,^16wi’ fragrant lunt,
Seta’their gabsa-steerin;
Syne, wi’a social glass o’strunt,
They parted affcareerin
Fu’blythe that night.